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Biomedical subjects

Y Higaki

Publications and source records attributed to Y Higaki.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Anti-IgM but not anti-IgD antibodies inhibit cell division of normal human mature B cells.

Insolubilized anti-IgD antibody markedly increased DNA synthesis in and cell division of normal peripheral blood B cells (PBL-B) when used in combination with IL-4. Anti-IgM antibodies also induced DNA synthesis of PBL-B, but their ability to induce cell division was less than that of anti-IgD antibodies even when used in combination with IL-4. Moreover, anti-IgM antibodies inhibited cell division of PBL-B stimulated with insolubilized anti-IgD antibody plus IL-4 without affecting DNA synthesis. Anti-IgM antibodies also inhibited Staphylococcus aureus Cowan I-induced cell division of PBL-B without affecting DNA synthesis. These results indicate that cross-linkage of surface IgM (sIgM) in mature B cells generates negative signals to inhibit cell division of mature B cells. Because anti-IgD antibodies did not inhibit cell division at all, the role of sIgD in the regulation of cell division of mature B cells may be quite different from that of sIgM. IFN-alpha/beta promoted cell division of PBL-B stimulated with insolubilized anti-IgD antibody plus IL-4. They also counteracted the inhibitory effect of anti-IgM antibody on cell division of PBL-B.

Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic↗

Growth regulation of a human mature B cell line, B104, by anti-IgM and anti-IgD antibodies.

An EBNA- human B lymphoma cell line, B104, was established. B104 cells express IgD as well as IgM on their surface, which is thought to be a basic characteristic of mature B cells. The growth of B104 cells was inhibited by treatment with a panel of anti-IgM antibodies. Cell cycle analyses revealed that the transition of B104 cells from the G2/M to the G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle was markedly inhibited by treatment with anti-IgM antibodies. Progression of B104 cells to the M phase of the cell cycle was found to be suppressed in the presence of anti-IgM antibodies. In contrast, both the entrance of G0/G1 phase cells into the S phase and the progression of S phase cells to the G2/M phase of the cell cycle did not seem to be inhibited significantly by treatment with anti-IgM antibodies. These results indicate that the mechanism of the inhibition of growth of B104 cells by anti-IgM antibodies is blockage of the transition from the G2 to the M phase of the cell cycle. In contrast to anti-IgM antibodies, anti-IgD antibodies could not cause growth inhibition of B104 cells at all. B cell growth factors such as IL-4 and IL-6 had no effect on the inhibition of growth of B104 cells by anti-IgM antibody. IFN-alpha and -beta, which have no B cell growth factor activity, did increase the number of cells that survived the treatment with anti-IgM antibodies. B104 is an excellent experimental model for the study of the mechanism of signal transduction through sIg as well as the functional difference between sIgM and sIgD.

Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic↗

Carcinoid tumor of the larynx.

Carcinoid tumor of the larynx is a rare neoplasm. Two cases of laryngeal carcinoid tumor are reported and the relevant literature is reviewed. One patient was an 82-year-old male who complained of odynophagia. The tumor was located on the left arytenoid and neck metastasis were present when he died 3 years after surgery. The other patient was an 82-year-old male who complained of hoarseness. His tumor was located in the left ventricle. Bone metastasis was detected one month after surgery and he died of distant metastasis two months following surgery. A review of the literature showed that carcinoid tumors of the larynx are aggressive and malignant, with distant metastasis being the most common cause of death. This tumor is unresponsive to radiotherapy and chemotherapy, so adequate surgical excision remains the only effective treatment.

Aged↗

Decreased level of ceramides in stratum corneum of atopic dermatitis: an etiologic factor in atopic dry skin?

Stratum corneum lipids are an important determinant for both water-retention function and permeability-barrier function in the stratum corneum. However, their major constituent, ceramides, have not been analyzed in detail in skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis that show defective water-retention and permeability-barrier function. In an attempt to assess the quantity of ceramides per unit mass of the stratum corneum in atopic dermatitis, stratum corneum sheet was removed from the forearm skin by stripping with cyanoacrylate resin and placed in hexane/ethanol extraction to yield stratum corneum lipids. The stratum corneum was dispersed by solubilization of cyanoacrylate resin with dimethylformamide, and after membrane filtration, the weight of the stratum corneum mass was measured. The ceramides were quantified by thin-layer chromatography and evaluated as microgram/mg stratum corneum. In the forearm skin of healthy individuals (n = 65), the total ceramide content significantly declined with increasing age. In atopic dermatitis (n = 32-35), there was a marked reduction in the amount of ceramides in the lesional forearm skin compared with those of healthy individuals of the same age. Interestingly, the non-lesional skin also exhibited a similar and significant decrease of ceramides. Among six ceramide fractions, ceramide 1 was most significantly reduced in both lesional and non-lesional skin. These findings suggest that an insufficiency of ceramides in the stratum corneum is an etiologic factor in atopic dry skin.

Adolescent↗

A renal cell carcinoma extending into the renal pelvis simulating transitional cell carcinoma.

A case of renal cell carcinoma with unusual extension is reported, in which the radiographic findings have a close resemblance to those of transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis. We emphasize that it is occasionally difficult to draw a distinction between transitional cell carcinoma with renal invasion and renal cell carcinoma with renal pelvic extension even by computed tomography (CT) and angiography.

Adult↗

[Clinical study of tumor markers in prostatic cancer].

We measured prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP), gamma-seminoprotein (gamma-Sm) and prostatic specific antigen (PSA) levels simultaneously in the serum of 52 patients with untreated prostatic cancer and 44 patients with benign prostatic hypertrophy to assess the clinical usefulness of these tumor markers. PAP and PSA were measured by radioimmunoassay and gamma-Sm by enzyme immunoassay. The positive rates of PAP, gamma-Sm and PSA in patients with prostatic cancer were 50.0, 61.5 and 69.2%, respectively, and those in patients with benign prostatic hypertrophy were 11.4, 13.6 and 13.6%, respectively. In patients with early stage prostatic cancer (stage A and B), the positive rates of PAP, gamma-Sm and PSA were 20.8, 41.7 and 54.2%. The efficiency of PSA was the highest among the three markers. The positive rate of the combination assay of PAP and PSA, that of gamma-Sm and PSA and that of PAP, gamma-Sm and PSA were slightly higher than that of the PSA assay alone. However, the efficiency of the PSA assay alone was higher than that of any combination. No significant correlation was found between histopathological grade and the level of each tumor marker. A significant correlation was found between PAP and gamma-Sm (r = 0.68, P less than 0.001), and between PAP and PSA (r = 0.61, P less than 0.001), but there was no correlation between gamma-Sm and PSA. These results suggest that PSA is the most useful marker and the combination assay of multiple markers is not so advantageous, at least for screening of prostatic cancer.

Acid Phosphatase↗

[Serum IgE and Fc epsilon receptor positive lymphocytes in atopic dermatitis--relation to the background of respiratory atopy].

The serum IgE level and the population of Fc epsilon R2+ lymphocytes in peripheral blood of 62 patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) were studied. IgE was increased in the majority of the patients with personal or family history of asthma and/or allergic rhinitis (combined AD). On the contrary, only 63.2% of the patients who have solely AD (pure AD) showed less elevation of IgE. There was no correlation between IgE and the severity of dermatitis in pure AD and rhinitis combined AD. However, asthma combined AD showed a significant positive correlation between IgE and the severity of dermatitis. In AD, the population of Fc epsilon R2+ lymphocytes significantly correlated with IgE, suggesting that Fc epsilon R2+ lymphocytes may play a role in the enhanced synthesis of IgE. However, the increase of Fc epsilon R2+ lymphocytes was found only in combined AD, but not in pure AD. These results suggest that elevated IgE and Fc epsilon R2+ lymphocytes reflect combined respiratory atopy rather than AD itself, although there remains the possibility that IgE may influence the formation or exacerbation of dermatitis in asthma combined AD. As far as the participation of IgE is concerned, pure AD and asthma combined AD could be different groups and should be investigated separately.

Adolescent↗

[Changes in immunoparameters following cryosurgery in prostate cancer].

To determine the effect on immunoparameters of cryosurgery in cases of stage B prostatic cancer and to determine whether such changes were specifically related to the cryosurgery technique, immunoparameters were measured and compared with cases of prostatic hyperplasia treated by transurethral resection (TUR-P). A decrease in immunoparameters was recognized in the cryosurgery group at 1-3 days postoperatively (increase in IAP, decrease in NK cell activity, decrease in lymphocyte blastogenesis reaction to PHA). The protein histograms, immunoglobulin and IAP changed similarly after the two above procedures. These changes were thought to be due to the invasive nature of the procedures. However, some difference was seen between the cryosurgery group and the TUR-P group in terms of rate of lymphocyte blastogenesis reaction to PHA and Con A, IgG, complement and NK cell activity which might indicate a specific effect of cryosurgery different from TUR-P.

Aged↗

[Comparison of non-HPLC 1 alpha, 25(OH)2D assay system with the HPLC method].

Recently, a method not requiring high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) has been developed (Amersham Inc., U.K) for the measurement of levels of 1 alpha, 25(OH)2D, which demonstrates the most potent physiological effect among the metabolites of vitamin D. Until recently, purification of 1 alpha, 25(OH)2D fraction with HPLC has been considered indispensable prior to radioreceptor assay of this metabolite. Therefore, we used the Amersham assay system to determine whether it is possible to correctly measure the level of 1 alpha, 25(OH)2D without the HPLC process. The procedures we used were to extract the serum with an organic solvent, followed by fractionation of vitamin D metabolites through an LH-20 column. The products with or without the use of HPLC were submitted to radioreceptor assay using chick embryo intestinal receptors. As a result, it was found that (1) Separation and yield were improved by changing the column size, (1) Serum values 1 alpha, 25 (OH)2D in healthy subjects obtained by HPLC and non-HPLC methods were in good agreement with the theoretical values. Although the values thus obtained in patients with chronic renal insufficiency (with or without dialysis) were somewhat lower than the theoretical values, the result was consistent because there was no significant difference between the tow sets of measured values, and the correlation coefficient was r = 0.990. (3) Variations within the assay were CV = 16.5% for HPLC group and CV = 21.4% for non-HPLC group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Calcitriol↗

[Changes in tumor markers following cryosurgery of prostate carcinoma].

Cryosurgery is performed in poor risk cases of prostate carcinoma with dysuria. This modality has been reported to reduce the metastatic lesion postoperatively in cases of prostate carcinoma accompanied by metastasis and is employed as an adjuvant therapy of prostate carcinoma. However, many cases are already at an advanced stage and have undergone other therapeutic modalities and as a result the exact role of cryosurgery in prostate carcinoma is not clear. The present investigation was undertaken to clarify the effectiveness of cryosurgery in prostate carcinoma. The patients consisted of 21 untreated cases of histologically confirmed prostate carcinoma admitted our hospital during the 5-year period from December, 1982 to December, 1987, in all of whom treatment by cryosurgery alone was indicated, i.e., up stage B, and in whom changes in prostate carcinoma tumor markers, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), acid phosphatase (ACP), prostatic ACP detected enzymatically (PACP), and by radioimmunoassay (PAP), gamma-seminoprotein (gamma-Sm), and prostate specific antigen (PSA) were measured. During the same period, changes in tumor makers in 11 cases of prostate hypertrophy treated by transurethral resection of prostate (TUR-P) were also examined. The tumor markers were measured prior to cryosurgery and 1, 3, 7 and 14 days postoperatively as well as at 1, 3 and 6 months. Following TUR-P, in the cases of prostate hypertrophy, no postoperative changes in ALP, ACP or PACP were observed but there was elevation of PAP and gamma-Sm at day 1 and elevation of PSA until day 3, but none of these were statistically significant differences.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acid Phosphatase↗

[Study on serum levels of immunosuppressive acidic protein (IAP) as a marker of renal cell carcinoma].

Immunosuppressive acidic protein (IAP) exhibits various types of immunosuppressive activity and is said to increase in cancer hosts. Based on measurements of IAP levels in normal subjects, cases of renal cysts and 46 cases of renal cell carcinoma we reached the following conclusions: The IAP levels in normal subjects ranged from 250-530 micrograms/ml, with a mean +/- S.D. of 362.5 +/- 68.9 micrograms/ml, which was comparable to the values in renal cyst cases (250-470 micrograms/ml, mean +/- S.D.: 353 +/- 70 micrograms/ml). 475 micrograms/ml was taken as the upper limit of the normal range. The pretreatment IAP values for cases of renal cell carcinoma ranged from 330-1,780 micrograms/ml, with a mean +/- S.D. of 820 +/- 820 and 73% were considered positive (i.e. beyond the 475 micrograms/ml limit). There was a statistical significance of p less than 0.01 between normal subjects and renal cell carcinoma cases and also between renal cyst cases and renal cell carcinoma cases. When the cases of renal cell carcinoma were divided into those with a pretreatment IAP level of 475 micrograms/ml or less and those with more than 475 micrograms/ml, the 3-year survival of the former was 90%, whereas that of the latter group was 39%, showing a statistically significant difference with p less than 0.05. Comparison of the IAP levels in the group of total nephrectomy cases that did not develop recurrence and those in which recurrence was recognized, revealed significantly higher IAP levels in the latter (p less than 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

[Pathohistological comparison of biopsy specimens with all-layer cystectomy specimens in bladder cancer].

We studied the ratio of agreement between biopsy specimens and all-layer specimens in regard to growth pattern, histological classification, staging, grading, lymphatic invasion, intravenous invasion and infiltrating type of 42 cases in which it was possible to make a comparison among radical cystectomy cases treated between November 1976 and October 1988. The above 7 categories were studied according to the General Rule for Clinical and Pathological Studies on Bladder Cancer (Japanese Urological Association and Japanese Pathological Society). The result showed that the ratio of agreement between the biopsy specimens and the all-layer specimens was 90.5% according to growth pattern. The ratio of agreement was 85.7% according to histological classification but 76.2% according to staging. When grading was not based on the lower grade of cells occupying the major portion, but the higher grade of cells occupying the minor portion the ratio of agreement was 88.1%. The ratio of agreement was 76.2% according to lymphatic invasion. However, when lymphatic invasion was seen on the all-layer specimens, the ratio of agreement was 74.4% according to lymphatic invasion. The ratio of agreement was 76.2% according to intravenous invasion. However, when intravenous invasion was seen on the all-layer specimens, the ratio of agreement was 58.3% according to intravenous invasion. The ratio of agreement was 76.8% in regard to infiltrating type. Staging, grading, and vascular invasion are important prognostic factors in bladder cancer. According to our study, biopsy specimens alone are not enough to evaluate the staging and the presence of vascular invasion. For more accurate diagnosis, we must resect deep and multiple biopsy specimens.

Adenocarcinoma↗

[Clinical evaluation of serum gamma-seminoprotein in patients with prostatic cancer].

The level of serum gamma-seminoprotein (gamma-Sm) was measured by enzyme immunoassay in 62 patients with untreated prostatic cancer and 89 patients with benign prostatic hypertrophy histologically diagnosed to assess the clinical usefulness as a tumor marker. The level of serum prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) was also measured by radioimmunoassay in these patients simultaneously. Serum gamma-Sm levels in prostatic cancer were significantly higher than in benign prostatic hypertrophy. There was a tendency for serum gamma-Sm levels in prostatic cancer to increase with statistically significant difference as the stage progressed. A gamma-Sm level of over 5.0 ng/ml was considered to be positive. The positive rate of gamma-Sm was 56.5% in prostatic cancer (stage A.B: 32.3%, stage C: 75.0%, stage D: 90.9%) and 19.1% in benign prostatic hypertrophy. In stage A.B cases, the positive rate of gamma-Sm was higher than that of PAP. Therefore, the measurement of gamma-Sm is considered to be useful in the diagnosis of early prostatic cancer.

Aged↗

[Effect of thrombin on hematuria after operation for benign prostatic hyperplasia].

The control of intra- and postoperative hemorrhage is as significant a problem following prostatectomy as postoperative urinary tract infection. We made a trial use of a solution of thrombin in continuous bladder lavage to control postoperative hemorrhage. A group of 21 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia were treated by the thrombin lavage, with a group of 20 similar patients as controls. The treated group comprised 5 patients operated on by suprapubic, 11 by retropubic and 6 by transurethral prostatectomy, and the control group consisted of 6 patients operated on by suprapubic, 8 by retropubic, and 6 by transurethral prostatectomy. The thrombin lavage was, as a general rule, performed by lavaging the bladder with a solution of thrombin in physiological saline containing 100 units in each ml through an indwelling 3-way Foly catheter continuously for 24 hours following operation. There was no significant difference in the duration of macroscopic hematuria following operation by any operating technic between the control and the treated grove. The duration of microscopic hematuria was significantly shorter in the patients operated on by suprapubic prostatectomy and treated with thrombin than in the control group similarly operated on, and also tended to be reduced in the patients operated on by retropubic prostatectomy and treated with thrombin, compared with the controls similarly operated on. There was no significant difference in the duration between the patients operated on by transurethral technic. No particular adverse reactions to the thrombin lavage were observed.

Aged↗

[The clinical study of 794 patients with an upper urinary tract stone analyzed by infrared spectroscopy].

During the 48-year period from January, 1938 to December, 1985, upper urinary tract stones obtained from 794 patients were analyzed by infrared spectroscopy in our Department. Their clinical manifestations were studied, mainly in relation to stone composition. The ratio of males to females was 3.0 to 1. In recent years, the incidence of females tended to increase. In the age distribution, twenties were most frequent followed by thirties together with fourties before 1965, but after 1966, the thirties were most frequent, and fourties and fifties increased. The composition of 794 stones was as follows. The most frequent type was calcium oxalate combined with calcium phosphate (43.1%), followed by calcium oxalate (39.8%) and calcium phosphate (9.6%). Magnesium ammonium phosphate stones were found in 1.6% and uric acid stones in 2.9%. Calcium oxalate stones, uric acid stones and oxalate-containing stones were found more frequently in males than in females. On the other hand, magnesium ammonium phosphate stones, calcium phosphate stones and phosphate-containing stones were found less frequently in males than in females. There was a high occurrence of calcium phosphate stones and uric acid stones in patients older than 60 years old. The occurrence of calcium oxalate stones and uric acid stones increased and that of phosphate-containing stones decreased after 1966. Most of the recurrent stones revealed the same or similar composition as the initial stones.

Adolescent↗